The Pemigewasset River flows through the heart of New Hampshire's White Mountains, eventually feeding the Merrimack River on its way to the Atlantic Ocean. In autumn, it is one of the most photogenic regions of the country, offering broad vistas to tight close-ups.

This image was made along a small tributary to the 'Pemi' river, several years ago in the days of film. Full disclosure: The bottom leaf was there when I found the scene, its what caught my eye. The upper two leaves were added to the scene by hand.

Nikon FA, Nikon 105mm macro, Fuji Velvia Slide Film, ISO 50. Tripod.

Copyright Ken Canning

September 2014 - Deep Dive

Humpback Whales at Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, off the coast of Massachusetts, migrate about 1500 miles from their breeding grounds in the West Indies to Northern feeding grounds. New calves make the trek north with their mothers, but return south alone in the fall.

The great thing about federal wilderness areas is that there are only two ways to get in to them; on your feet or on a horse. By law, there are no roads, no buildings, no motorized vehicles. The Lee Metcalf Wilderness in Montana is located outside of neighboring Yellowstone national park and offers pristine alpine meadows, incredible fields of wild flowers and zero traffic.

This piping plover (with two chicks under wing) is causing a lot of trouble. Large portions of Massachusetts beaches are fenced off for most of the summer to protect the birds and their chicks. It seems the billions of dollars poured into restoring Massachusetts beaches over the past several decades have made the beaches habitable not only for humans, but for the plovers as well. Now the battle lines are drawing.

A Boston Globe article earlier this summer advocated for less roped-off area of beaches to allow summer bathers to enjoy the fruits of a decades long cleanup of Boston Harbor. To quote the article " The most important number on Boston Harbor is bacteria-free beach days, not plover eggs."

For the bird's part, they have rebounded tremendously along the Atlantic coast since coming under protection in the 1980's as a threatened species. And newer studies show that natural causes - predators, storms - may now have more impact on the plover's success than human interaction. In fact, there is some suggestion that plovers are more successful on beaches used heavily by humans as predators are less likely inhabit those busy areas.

In the 1960's, bald eagle nesting pairs were down to about 400 (due largely to DDT) and the bald eagle became one of the first protected species in the US. In 2007, when the eagles were removed from the endangered species list, there were about 10,000 nesting pairs. Quite a comeback. It is estimated that about half of the bald eagle population lives in Alaska. "Bald" refers to the adult bird's white head, from back when "bald" meant "white". This Alaskan juvenile bald eagle had a wingspan of about 6 ft.

Least terns were endangered in the 70's and 80's. Today only one of three sub-species is listed as threatened. This least tern chick was photographed on busy Fort Myers beach in Florida. Although humans walk past the roped-off nesting area hundreds of times a day, the chick still dove for cover in the beach vegetation each time someone ventured close to the boundary ropes.

Reindeer (aka Caribou) inhabit the northernmost climes of North America, Asia and Europe. These Svalbard caribou are the smallest of 4 caribou subspecies. The caribou's antlers are brilliant red shortly after shedding their velvet coating in preparation for autumn rut. These two sparring males were photographed at Svalbard, Norway.

The Yellowstone River watershed drains approximately 700 square miles of terrain across Wyoming, Montana, and North Dakota, eventually flowing into the Missouri River. In Yellowstone National Park, the river is just getting started. This photo was made in the park, in the vicinity of the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

Alafia Bank is a couple of small islands in Tampa Bay near the mouth of the Alafia river. The islands originate from material dredged for shipping channels in the 1920s. They are now mostly covered in mangrove and are an important rookery for many south Florida birds. Alafia Bank is owned by a phosphate fertilizer company and leased to Audubon Florida who maintain the islands as part of their Florida Coastal Islands Sanctuaries. The big draw for photographers are the Roseate Spoonbills, such as this juvenile bird, that nest in the trees and forage in the shallow lagoons.

Most of the roads in Yellowstone are closed during winter. The only motorized access to the park's interior, where this photo was taken, is with licensed guides on snow machines. The use of snowmobiles in the park has been a topic of debate over the past 15 years between the park service, local guides, and environmentalists, sparking several lawsuits. That issue seems to be coming to closure this year as the park service issued new rules for snow machines (less machines allowed to enter the park and stricter noise and emissions regs) that most parties are willing to support.

The park's northern-most road from the North entrance to the Northeast entrance is open to cars in the winter and is a great location for winter wildlife photography.

Bosque del Apache in New Mexico is famous for vast flocks of migrating cranes and geese that winter in the region. This mid-October visit was a bit early for the birds' arrival. The government shutdown was in full swing as well, and photography was limited to roadside pull-outs (strictly enforced!). Still, there were lots of clouds in the sky for wide angle work.